Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Cleveland, Mississippi

Cleveland, Mississippi, a city built upon timber, the Mississippi River, and the railroad in the 1880s, became a Delta center with a thriving Jewish community. The Cleveland Jewish population began to grow around the early years of the 20th century, sparking the necessity for a permanent house of worship. By the turn of the century, there were about ten Jewish families in the Cleveland area, but there was neither a Sunday school nor Sabbath activities. On a Sunday afternoon in the spring of 1922, Cleveland residents Leo Shoenholz, I.A. Kamien and Harry Weinsten came up with the idea to start a Sunday school in Cleveland to serve all of Bolivar County. With the help of Rabbi Rabinowitz of Greenville, the Community Hebrew School stared in the Cleveland Consolidated School building in June 1922.

A congregation is formed: In 1923, the adults of the Jewish community, including people from nearby towns like Drew, Ruleville, Rosedale, Shaw, Boyle, Pace, and Merigold, began to worship together as a congregation, with Jacob Borodofsky as its first president. An adult bible class of over 50 members met every Sunday, led by knowledgeable congregation members, while Rabbi Rabinowitz came to Cleveland on the last Sunday of each month to lead services. This unique community idea, which drew members from towns within a 50-mile radius, worked from the start. Soon, Jews from Sunflower strengthened the original group, both in numbers and talents. The first confirmation was held at the Cleveland School auditorium on Sunday, May 23, 1926. On one occasion during the 1927 flood, it was necessary for the Rabbi to drive along the levee to Rosedale in order to reach Cleveland for the service. And more than once, during the winter energy crises, the Rabbi held services without removing his overcoat.For its first four years, the group held services in a local high school auditorium, and members began to raise money to build a permanent home for the congregation. As attendance at both the Sunday school and formal services increased, it was decided to try to raise money to build the Temple. Between 1926 and 1927, Joe Fink and Leo Shoenholz led the capital campaign to construct the first building for the congregation they now called Adath Israel (Community of Israel). They found great support throughout the region. In high cotton style, the group held dances, bridge parties, and outings at the Bogue Phalia Outing Club to raise money. The entire community responded, Jews and non-Jews alike. Non-Jews donated nearly $3,500 for the project, while wholesale houses with whom Jewish members did business in Memphis and St. Louis contributed $1,200. The small Jewish community of Merigold raised $750, and Mrs. Dattel and co-workers of nearby Rosedale outdid their neighbors with contributions of $1000.

A temple is dedicated: Work began on a new building in the fall of 1926. Built at a cost of $22,000, the congregation dedicated the Moorish-style building at the corner of Bolivar and Shelby Streets on February 6, 1927. It is a unique example of synagogue architecture. Two smaller domes atop façade towers flank its central copper dome and flat roof. As distinctive as the generations who would fill its halls, the Temple became a cherished landmark to the residents of Cleveland. Following the dedication, a banquet was held in the Hotel Grover. Dr. Rabinowitz served as toastmaster, and the event featured a musical highlight rendition of “My Wild Irish Rose,” by Mrs. Harry Weinstein, Mr. R.E. Davis and Mr. L.G. Hallam. The first High Holy Day services in the temple were held in September of that same year, led by Rabbi Max Maccoby, who came from New York as a student rabbi. Most towns invested in a cemetery before a temple, but Cleveland never had a Jewish cemetery. According to local lore, the reason for never starting a cemetery was that no one wanted to be the first to be buried there. Some Jews were buried in the main city cemetery or found burial sites in Greenville.

A full-time Rabbi: In 1928, the congregation hired Rabbi Jacob Halevi as its resident rabbi. His tenure continued until 1931, after which Carl Schorr, Hirsch L. Freund and Newton Friedman served the congregation. In 1934, Adath Israel joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and began using the Reform Union Prayer Book. As an indicator of its success, the temple hosted its first social banquet in 1936, featuring 117 plates, each at a cost of sixty cents. Like many banquets of its time, the dinner featured not only prominent Jewish and non-Jewish Cleveland residents as speakers, but also rabbis from neighboring Clarksdale and Greenville.

Religious life in Cleveland during the 20th century: Soon after the dedication of the temple, Cleveland found itself in the throes of the Depression. The rabbi’s salary was lowered. Despite these troubles, religious services were never interrupted, and the congregation grew to 89 members by 1937. Many members traveled 140 miles round-trip from towns such as Ruleville, Shaw, Shelby, Rosedale and Winona to attend services.Through dedication and hard work, the temple thrived. In its glory days, the temple was known throughout Mississippi for its impressive engagement and effectiveness. It was a beehive of activity — regular services, dinners, charity fundraising and events for young people. By the late 1940s, the congregation had over 100 members, and by the mid-1950s, it had nearly 75 children in its religious school. At one point in time, Adath Israel had the largest Sunday school and the second largest congregation in Mississippi.During this period, Sunday school and Friday night services were staples of religious life at Adath Israel. The religious school met on Sunday because most Jews were merchants and could not leave their stores on Saturday. A series of rabbis served the congregation over the years, including Louis Josephson, Julian Feingold, Simon Cohen, Morris Shapiro and Henry Schwartz. They had so many rabbis that the chairman of the Rabbinical Committee, Ben Sklar, kept his bag packed for Cincinnati, home of Hebrew Union College. After traveling there so many times for new recruits, he and was on a first-name basis with the placement director of Hebrew Union College. In 1950, the congregation built a $30,000 annex, designed by architect Harold Kaplan of Greenville, included a social hall, kitchen and new classrooms. In the 1960s, the congregation renovated its sanctuary, built a rabbi’s study, and also acquired a parsonage for the rabbi. Members of the congregation were strong supporters of the fledgling state of Israel, with Moses Hyman and Leo Shoenholz leading an Israel bond drive which raised $35,000 in the late 1940s.

Rabbi Moses Landau: In 1957, Adath Israel finally began to enjoy some rabbinic stability with the arrival of Rabbi Moses Landau, who served the congregation well into the 1990s. Landau traveled to Indianola twice a month to hold services and to help out with their Sunday school. A native of Austria, he was twice imprisoned by the Nazis prior to World War II. He sought refuge in Palestine, Africa, and then later America. The remainder of his family perished. One congregant remembered him telling stories about growing up in the Austrian mountains, and being rescued by a Catholic friend just before the war. While in Africa, he lived off dates, nuts and water for weeks.Although he was fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French and German, the only English phrase Landau knew upon his arrival in the United States was, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” He worked in different locations across the United States, including Kansas City, Chicago, Texarkana, Los Angeles and Bloomington, before coming to Cleveland. Under his leadership, the congregation thrived. He made a point of inviting all denominations to services at the temple. Landau focused on the children and felt it was vital for youth to be present at services. His love of history and storytelling made him very effective as a professor at Delta State University, where he taught German, Hebrew and World History. Despite a well-earned reputation for being tough, his non-Jewish students loved him as well. Landau remained at Adath Israel until shortly before his death in 1998 at the age of 93. For a time, they were without a rabbi, and services were led by members of the congregation.

Recent history: Sadly, over the last few decades, membership at Adath Israel has dwindled.In 2002, the temple was added to the National Historic Register. Nevertheless, Adath Israel remains active, with regular services and a membership of 18 families. Rabbi Harry Danziger, the retired rabbi of Temple Israel in Memphis, comes to Cleveland once a month to lead services. Services are followed by a potluck supper. Temple President Ed Kossman notes that there are typically more Christians than Jews at services. For instance, a retired Baptist minister never misses a service. That interfaith spirit was echoed by the fact that in 2013, the local Episcopal priest arranged a pulpit swap with Danziger, in which Danziger gave a series of lectures to the Episcopal congregation and led the Sunday morning service. In 2013, the congregation held bat and bar mitzvahs for Ava and Milton Lubin. In 2014, the congregation hosted a group of about 40 from a congregation in Dallas in as well as a group of students from American University. As stated in a temple history written by the late I.A. Kamien, Jr. “The founders and builders of Adath Israel were men and women of vision, of dedication, and of action…they gave us as our heritage a viable organization that has stood the test of time. We have dwindled considerably in numbers, but we continue to be as dynamic in spirit as those who have gone before us.”Cleveland's Jewish house of worship is in the hands of its lay members and its student rabbis; this community can only survive through the hard work of those that remain in this once large Delta Jewish community.